Supreme Court stops High Court from hearing Zanetor case

Dr Zanetor Rawlings

The Supreme Court has suspended the case of Nii Armah Ashitey and Dr Zanetor Rawlings at the High Court until it determines a constitutional matter involved in the case.

In a 4-1 majority decision, the apex court ruled that the High Court erred in law when it assumed jurisdiction over Article 94 clause 1(a) of the 1992 Constitution.

Article 94 clause 1 (a) states that a person must be a registered voter before he or she can contest as a Member of Parliament.

The Supreme Court has therefore suspended the case to determine whether the said constitutional provision becomes operational when a person declares his or her intention to be an MP at the primaries level or whether it is when the Electoral Commission opens nominations and the person files the relevant documents.

Legal team of Dr Rawlings filed the application at the Supreme Court, praying the court to quash a ruling by the High Court to continue to hear the case.

The court has therefore given the parties involved in the case to file their submissions simultaneously within two weeks and further adjourned the case to June 2, 2016.

Nii Armah Ashietey who lost to Dr Rawlings last year had gone to court challenging his defeat in the November 11, 2015, primaries citing some constitutional breaches.

According to Mr Ashietey, Dr. Zanetor Rawlings did not qualify to be elected as the parliamentary nominee since at the time of the contest she was not a registered voter in the country.